Internet promoting connections, not loneliness, say experts

IT'S A COMMON belief -- and not just in science fiction novels -- that technology is to blame for many of society's ills. Web surfing makes us more sedentary, cell phones promote rudeness in public, and in general, technology is isolating us even if we have 500 Facebook friends.

"It's (technology) torn us apart," says 30-year-old Joseph Seibel of Oakland as he relaxes near a Piedmont Avenue cafe. "It's compartmentalized us. For the most part, it's been a disadvantage because people get too introverted, too into their computers and phones."

Eurydice Manning, 29, a food server in Oakland, agrees. She frequently sees families come into her restaurant totally disengaged from their dining partners, tapping away at their smart phones.

Both might be surprised to learn that experts say that technology actually appears to be building relationships. But it's not unusual for people to think otherwise.

Since 1998, when one of the first studies on the Internet and social isolation came out, people have been repeating its conclusions that technology, specifically the Internet, is increasing our sense of loneliness. A 2003 study confirmed this and in 2007, when a 40-year-old London woman was found dead in her apartment two years after she passed, the buzz these studies created turned into a media uproar.

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Yet the inference that technology and the Internet is making us feel more lonesome may simply be incorrect, researchers say today. Yes, loneliness does affect a broad spectrum of people, but technology cannot be the only scapegoat.

In fact, a Pew Internet & American Life Project study released last year says the opposite of what previous studies assert: People who use technology have notable social advantages. They stay in touch and share information in ways that keep them socially active and connected to their communities. This is especially true with online social networking, which wasn't around in 1998 or 2003. And for senior citizens, using technology can keep the brain healthy.

"Technology does not seem to be the cause of isolation and loneliness," says Lee Rainie, director of Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. "The people who use technology have bigger networks and more diverse networks than people who don't. People who are social networkers are, in all cases, at least engaged with their communities more than people who don't use social networking sites."

The Pew study lays out some interesting conclusions: Frequent Internet users, and those who maintain a blog, are more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. And those who share photos online are more likely to report they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party.

The study says people use the Internet and cell phones to supplement, complement and add to their contacts with others, so many relationships, even if online, are still high quality.

"People who use the Internet in certain ways and people who use a mobile phone tend to have larger core networks, people with whom they discuss important matters," says Keith N. Hampton, a researcher from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication and co-author of the study. "They are the people you rely on in an emergency. They are the people who provide most of your companionship and everyday support."

It also says that cell phone users, those who use the Internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association like a youth group or a charitable organization. Finally, it says that using the Internet doesn't pull people away from public places, as evidenced in coffee houses across the Bay Area.

But are those people at Starbucks, laptops open and headphones on, lonesome?

Loneliness is a subjective state, says Louise Hawkley, associate director of the Social Neuroscience Laboratory and a senior research scientist with the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago.

"It's not just the absence of people," she says. "There are people we know who live solitary lives and can be happy with that. There are other people who have a lot of friends who still feel lonely. Their needs aren't satisfied."

People who suffer from loneliness are at increased risk for depression, Hawkley says, and some tend to be more hostile, may believe they don't have social support and may be less optimistic. Loneliness also is associated with high blood pressure and a greater increase in blood pressure over time.

For seniors, loneliness can bring on a more rapid cognitive decline.

Tobey Dichter, CEO of Generations Online which has been working with 40,000 seniors over 10 years, says technology and the Internet increase feelings of connectedness for seniors, even in ways you might not imagine.

Unlike most generations who use the computer one-on-one, seniors tend to surf the Internet together with one person at the keyboard and three others reading, observing or driving the use, she says.

"What I see is there is a lot of helping one another, a lot more socialization and peer coaching," she adds. While some seniors are afraid of using computers because they are afraid of "breaking something," the ones who do can break through loneliness and depression, even build new neurons because they are learning new skills, she says

"(Computers and the Internet) are a wonderful life enhancer," says Jim Bradley, an 81-year-old Rossmoor resident who urges seniors to take computer classes in his Rossmoor News column. Bradley joined a computer club in the mid-'90s and says he uses the Internet to search out business news and connect with family and friends.

"People who are intimidated by it are missing a lot."

So if technology isn't to blame for modern loneliness and isolation, what is?

"That's a pretty hot topic in the world of sociology right now," Pew's Rainie says. He suggests the car culture, suburban living, the recession and more distant relationships could be factors.

University of Chicago's Hawkley says it could be because people are choosing to marry and have children later in life and because society promotes autonomy and individualism.

"Very rarely is there going to be one cause for anything," she says. "Nothing is clear yet."

Yet if you ask Mike Garcia of Milpitas what about technology makes us lonely, he'll paint a picture of a lonesome guy in his mother's basement playing online games and never seeing the sun. Challenge him on the point that studies are now suggesting those people are rare, Garcia looks doubtful.